Standing Firm
by RougeRanger
Summary: AU Starts the summer after 5th year, Harry has decided that he wants some more freedom and strikes out (mostly) on his own. Mostly lighthearted, nothing too crazy. Will eventually be Harry/Susan but not for a few chapters yet.


Chapter 1

As the sun rose on number four Privet Drive on the last day of June Harry Potter was sleeping fitfully as he had every night since returning from the only place he felt even remotely at home, Hogwarts. He had only been away from the school for two weeks but he was already desperate to be back, anything to get his mind off of his godfather. It's not that Harry blamed himself for Sirius' death at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange during the battle in the department of mysteries, he had the good sense to realize that there was really nothing he could have done differently. In truth Harry was simply upset over the loss of yet another family member, one he had truly grown to love and respect during their short time together. Sirius being gone was one more chance at normalcy and happiness snuffed out for Harry, and with the exception of Remus, he was running out of true connections to his parents. All of this had left him severely depressed and the general isolation that encompassed his summer holidays was not helping in the slightest.

Harry was woken quite abruptly by the arrival of a brown owl tapping on his window. Harry sat bolt upright and was immediately out of bed and at the window letting the owl fly inside and land softly on his bed. Harry untied the letter from the owl's leg while it eyed Hedwig with some interest. Harry was curious when he noticed that the sealed letter bore the Hogwarts crest and opened it quickly hoping it wasn't any form of bad news.

_Dear Harry,_

_If it is convenient to you. I shall call at number four, Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven P.M. to escort you to the Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays._

_If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of you assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend on the way to the Burrow. I shall explain more fully when I see you._

_Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday,_

_-I am, yours most sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry didn't understand why he was feeling so conflicted, by any conventional logic he should be ecstatic. Dumbledore was going to take him to the Burrow after only two weeks with his aunt and uncle? A dream come true any other summer, so why now was he feeling so apprehensive? He re-read the letter again, It was typical Dumbledore fare, this letter. It was exceedingly polite yet still official, it had a general air of kindness but also had quite a bit of subtext written between those lines, and what was this task which Harry could help with? Was it Voldemort related? Perhaps it had something to do with Sirius' death? Whatever it was Harry found it incredibly annoying that Dumbledore couldn't just tell him in this letter. He sat quietly for a few more seconds but was interrupted by a firm, "Hoo!" Harry jumped, having forgot that the owl was still standing on his bed awaiting his answer. Harry turned the parchment over and quickly scribbled, "Yes, that sounds great." but stopped. That was a lie, He didn't feel great about it at all. He turned to his trunk and fished around until he found a fresh piece of parchment on which he wrote,

_Dear Headmaster,_

_I'm actually going to need to think about this for a few more nights before I give you an answer. I hope this isn't an inconvenience._

_-Harry_

He reread the quick note and decided that he really didn't need to be any clearer considering the invite from the headmaster was equally cryptic, he tied the note to the waiting owl and gave him a treat before sending him on his way. As Harry watched the retreating owl he couldn't help wondering why he didn't want to go to the Burrow. It was certainly not that Harry wanted to stay here. His relatives had been the same horrible people they always had been, nothing would ever change that. Perhaps he just wanted to be alone to figure out how he was feeling regarding Sirius' death? That seemed like the most logical reason. Harry lay back on his bed and heaved a large sigh as he began to hear movement from the other occupants of the house. Harry hated having to be shut up in this room not unlike how Sirius had to be shut up in Grimmauld Place all of last year. He wished that he could just get out for a bit, maybe go catch a movie at the local cinema or even just enjoy a lunch at a local cafe, but he didn't have any money. Harry laughed out loud to himself, he actually had quite a bit of money on him, but none of it could help him here in Little Whinging. In fact more than a few big galleons were weighing down the coin purse in his trunk. He was mentally counting how much money he had in wizard currency when it hit him, he didn't have to be here, he knew that he had more than enough money to make it to London via the Knight Bus and he could get a room in the Leaky Cauldron for at least the night until he could get more money from his vault or until he finally relented and went to the Burrow with Dumbledore. Feeling elated Harry quickly bustled around his room gathering things and throwing them mostly haphazardly into his school trunk finally slamming it shut and locking it. After doing one last sweep of the room he opened Hedwig's cage, after a brief explanation that they were going to be staying in the Leaky Cauldron he let her fly out into the morning sun. Harry took a moment to catch his breath, he was feeling absolutely thrilled. He was finally doing what he wanted, it would be nice to spend even a night or two away from the intense scrutiny that he constantly found himself under. This could be a bit of a risk, it was all over The Daily Prophet that Death Eater related violence was happening more and more often, some right in Diagon Alley, but Harry felt that if he kept a relatively low profile he couldn't do much worse than he did any other place he went. Yes, this was exactly what felt right to him, and if there was one thing Harry was confident in it was following his instincts.

As he was dragging his trunk down the stairs he heard his uncle call from the front room, "Boy! What are you doing that's making so much noise!?"

Harry, having finally got his trunk to the bottom of the stairs walked into the sitting room and with some trepidation he began to tell them of his departure. "I'm going to go to London, I'll be staying there for a few days, at least. I wont be back here until next summer at the earliest." Harry couldn't help but to have a small amount of joy in his voice at this proclamation.

"Huh, well, don't let the door hit you on the way out." Vernon replied shortly. Harry was honestly a bit surprised at how level headed his uncle was being. It was far from a kind or even polite reaction but it was better than most of the interactions Harry had with his family over the years.

"Well, bye, I guess." Harry said flatly. This garnered literally no response from his family and so he simply slowly backed out of the room, grabbed his trunk and walked out of the house.

Harry walked a few blocks until he found a suitably deserted street before pulling out his wand and summoning the Knight Bus. He hoped he was doing it right, last time he had done this it was entirely by accident. Harry only had his arm out for a few seconds before he heard an all too familiar "BANG!" and the triple-decker bus came careening around the nearest corner. Harry instinctively jumped further away from the street as the bus came to a screeching halt right in front of his trunk. As the doors opened Harry was greeted not by Stan Shunpike, as he had been the last time he had ridden the bus, but by a different young man who showed an equal air of disinterest. Harry paid for the most basic ticket London assuring the porter that he already had a toothbrush and was fine without the mug of hot chocolate. As he boarded the bus he noticed that the beds from last time were missing and it actually looked much more like your average muggle bus, with rows of front facing seats most of which were full of witches and wizards of all sorts. Harry found a seat that was empty toward the back and settled in for the harrowing ride.

After the journey, which took a disappointingly long time thanks to the buses' frequent stops to drop off and pick up a great deal of people, Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Exiting the bus with trunk in tow it hit him that while he didn't exactly have a concrete plan he was feeling happier than he had in a long time. Harry liked exercising a bit of freedom, he felt like outside of being in school he never got to do what he wanted. If he was at the Dursley's it was obvious that he was essentially under house arrest but it was nearly as bad being at Grimmauld Place, and he was sure that without Sirius it would be even worse. Even when Harry was at the Burrow it wasn't ideal, it's not that he didn't enjoy the company of the Weasleys, but what he was feeling right now was a feeling of true freedom. He could do whatever he wanted, and as Harry realized this it hit him that what he really wanted to do was get something for lunch. He opened the door to the Leaky Cauldron and was glad to see the owner Tom behind the bar fussing with a glass and making small talk to a man who was seated at the bar. As Harry approached the bar Tom walked toward him a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Ahhh, good morning young man, what can I do for you?" The barman said in a pleasant voice.

"Hello Tom, I was hoping to get a room?" Harry said, "and maybe a little something for lunch?"

"No problem at all Harry, do you know how long you'll be staying?" Harry was a bit taken aback by the use of his name, but then it was to be expected, he was grateful that the bar was all but empty. He may have been feeling positively about this new found freedom but he wasn't so foolhardy as to broadcast his location.

"Ah, not exactly, just the one night for now, I'll be needing to visit my vault before I can pay for much more than that."

"Alright, just the one it is, though we're not usually booked too heavily at least until closer to when Hogwarts starts, lots of people in town for supplies and the like, so if you'll be needing to stay longer we'll have more than enough space for you. It'll be 6 Galleons for the room, and I'll throw the lunch in for free." Tom said with a broad smile.

Harry handed over the gold with a grateful bow of his head, "Thanks Tom, I'll just run upstairs and stow my trunk and come back down to eat, and one more thing," Harry fought the urge to glance around nervously, realizing that he was already going to appear very paranoid, "I would like to keep it quiet that I'm staying here."

Tom gave a very solemn nod. "Of course Harry, though might I recommend a hat? You are a bit of a celebrity you know." He said with just a hint of mocking.

"Good thinking, Tom," Harry said "Wouldn't want to get people asking for my autograph everywhere I went."

Tom laughed good-naturedly "Ha! I expect not my boy!"

With that Harry gathered up his trunk and began the trek upstairs. He had only stayed in the Leaky Cauldron once before but was already looking forward to the views it offered of Diagon Alley. Not to mention the chance to do some more exploring of the largest wizarding shopping district in the UK. Harry located his room and pushed the door open to find Hedwig already waiting for him in the small, sun bathed room.

"How do you do that? Always meet me places?" Harry said, laying his trunk at the foot of the bed and beckoning his familiar to his arm. Hedwig's only response was a soft "Hoo" as she hopped onto the offered arm. Harry walked toward the open window and she turned and flew out into the sky over the already busy alley. Harry opened the trunk at the foot of the bed and started to unpack a few things he'd need. He put a few clothes in the wardrobe in the room and set his books on the table. He also pulled out his father's Invisibility Cloak choosing to keep it in the drawer in the nightstand just in case he needed it. He stood in the middle of the room looking around happily until his stomach gave a very loud grumble reminding him that he had lunch waiting for him downstairs.

"You're in luck boy! I've made my famous split pea soup, and the best part is you'll be having it right at the peak of it's taste, it's always the best after about a week!" Tom must have seen Harry blanch because he hastened to add "I promise you it's not bad, I've won awards with it!"

Harry nervously accepted a very large bowl from Tom. He sat at the bar sipping pensively as Tom busied himself with another customer who had just arrived at the bar. Harry took this time to plan out the rest of his day. First on his list would, of course, be visiting the wizarding bank Gringotts to refill his money bag and then he might stop into Madam Malkin's for some new clothing, Harry felt like it was about time that he own some clothing that was truly his other than the bland and shapeless school robes. Coming back behind the bar Tom gave Harry a butterbeer firmly shaking his head when Harry reached for his money bag.

"So what brings you to Diagon Alley Harry?" Harry thought about this for a moment, he didn't really have a solid answer.

"I'm just spending a little time on my own, trying to clear my head, I guess."

"Ahh, I don't doubt you've got some things need clearing after what I heard happened at the Ministry."

Harry wasn't sure how to proceed, he wasn't ready to talk about the what happened at the Ministry with anyone let alone a virtual stranger. "Well… I don't know what you've heard…" Harry started lamely but was cutoff.

"No, no, you're right, I was bein' nosy. Wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable, I apologize. I just want you to know that no matter what the Prophet or the Ministry says I reckon that you have some pretty important role to play in this world. You're welcome here as long as I'm around, anything I can do to help you let me know." The barman looked deadly serious as he finished.

"Thank you Tom, I do appreciate it." Harry took another sip from his soup before looking back up, "You know, this was the first magical place I saw after learning that I was a wizard. It was also the first time I got any inkling that people knew who I was, other than Hagrid, of course."

"I never knew that, makes me wish I had made a better first impression!" Tom laughed and Harry joined in.

"You did fine Tom, there were so many first impressions during those few days, it's a wonder my head didn't explode."

"So I take it you were raised as a muggle then? Didn't have even a hint of who you really were?" Tom seemed completely taken aback

"I was actually raised by my mother's sister and her husband. Terrible people if I'm being honest," and it felt good to be honest right now. Harry realized that he was very seldom candid with anyone other than Ron and Hermione and being able to talk to someone who didn't judge him and seemed honestly curious was refreshing. "They're not big fans of magic, tried to squash it out of me in my youth, but hey, here I am."

"Here you are indeed, Harry." Tom said "and from what I can tell you are growing into a fine young man despite what those people may have done to you."

Harry felt himself flush with embarrassment at the praise. "Ha, well, I appreciate the vote of confidence there Tom. I'm just doing my best."

"…and what of the ladies?" Tom said waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Harry, "Handsome young lad as yourself, must have to fight them off!"

Harry gave a derisive snort, "Not by a long shot Tom, so far anything down that avenue has been complete disaster."

"Well then it's clear you haven't found the right girl," said Tom matter-of-factly "You'll be amazed at how easy it is to fall for the right girl when she comes along, and you never can tell when that girl will appear. Could be a week from now, could be a month, she could walk into this bar right now."

As if on cue the door to the pub was thrown open and both Harry and Tom turned suddenly to look upon the new arrival. How serendipitous could that statement have been?

"Alright Tom? Give us a firewhisky, It's already half one and I'm still stone cold sober!" Said a man who was easily in the top three most repulsive people Harry had ever laid eyes upon.

"Well, that's not her, but you've got lots of time to find her!" Tom said laughing loudly at the situation.

Harry joined him in the laughter, "Ha! Well, I'm not exactly looking, but if I find her, I'll let you know!" He stood up from the bar and headed toward the back exit finally deciding it was time to get started in Diagon Alley.

As the arch to alley materialized in front of him Harry sighed deeply, he enjoyed being in Diagon Alley very much, but this was not the same alley he had seen three years previously. He noticed posters put up in many places bearing warnings of dangers that could befall the hapless shoppers at any point. The people all seemed to be moving with a bit more intent, clearly trying to get whatever business had brought them out into public squared away as quickly as possible so that they could return to the perceived safety of their own homes. He even noticed that some shops were boarded up, closed for reasons that were not readily apparent. The overall effect was a bit disheartening coming off of his incredibly enjoyable lunch with Tom. Though Harry wasn't going to let this completely dampen his spirits as he walked quickly toward the bank at the end of the street.

Harry ascended the impressive marble steps outside of Gringotts and smiled as he gave a slight bow to the two goblins guarding the entrance to the bank with spears, one of them gave a halfhearted grunt while the other ignored him completely but Harry was undeterred, goblins were never the most polite of beings. Harry was grateful of their no nonsense approach to banking, as far as he could tell the goblins were fair and just in all manners of money. Harry entered the bank and was relieved to find it mostly empty he approached the long counter at which sat nearly a hundred goblins tentatively. Seeing no real rhyme, reason, or line, for that matter, Harry chose a goblin arbitrarily and walked up to him.

"Hello there" Harry started "My name is Harry…"

The goblin cut him off abruptly, "Mister Potter, the will reading isn't until tomorrow, I'm sure that the letter we sent you stated so quite clearly."

Harry was confused, will reading? It was obvious they were referring to Sirius, no one else he knew of would be having a will read, especially not one that he would be involved in. "I'm sorry, but I was unaware of a will reading. I never received an owl from the bank, mister…" Harry glanced around the desk looking for any kind of identification for the now frowning goblin sitting in front of him.

"My name is Kneegrinder" the goblin said impatiently. He removed his glasses and narrowed his eyes at Harry. "I'm quite sure that you were notified of the reading, at least, we did our part, if you failed to receive the notification then I think it is possible that someone is tampering with your mail. You really should look into that Mr. Potter."

"Uh… yeah, I uh… I'll do that." Harry was feeling distinctly over his head now. "Is the will reading for Sirius Black?"

"Indeed it is." Kneegrinder said simply, "but as that is not until tomorrow at 8 A.M. and you were apparently unaware of it until just now I assume you have some other business here."

"Oh, yeah, I do!" Harry said, glad to be getting back to his original plan. "I'd like to make a withdrawal from my vault."

"Your key?" Kneegrinder held out his hand expectantly.

"Oh no, I haven't got it! I only just remembered!" Harry was both embarrassed to have forgotten such a crucial element to his retrieval of money but also equally concerned because he was honestly unsure of where his key actually was. He had not needed to get money since last summer, but Mrs. Weasley had done it for him then. She must still have his key!

"You don't have your key? Is it lost?" Kneegrinder seemed impatient but was not being mean.

"I suppose so, I might know where it is but I don't really have a way of checking." Harry said sheepishly.

"I'm sorry but without your key you can only make an above ground withdrawal." Kneegrinder opened a drawer in the desk he was sitting at and took out what appeared to be a small fountain with a sharp spire coming from the center. He placed it on the counter and pushed it toward Harry.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not sure what to do." Harry was mentally chastising himself for assuming anything in the magical world was straightforward, it was quickly becoming apparent that goblin banking was just as convoluted as everything else wizards did.

Kneegrinder was definitely glaring now "Place your palm on the point and state how much money you'll be needing, no amount over one hundred galleons."

Harry was quick to rest his hand against the point, it was very sharp and he was a little concerned it would cut him. "Uhh… fifty galleons." Said Harry hesitantly.

The fountain began to hum and the point on which his hand was resting very suddenly stabbed him violently in the hand. Harry instantly withdrew his hand noticing that he was now bleeding. Kneegrinder chuckled softly as galleons started to appear in the basin of the fountain one at time making a soft tinkling sound as they landed on each other. Harry was a bit put out by the lack of warning but noticed that the wound wasn't deep and had already stopped bleeding leaving behind only a very dull pain.

"Why the stabbing?" Harry said still feeling distinctly unimpressed by the goblin's apparent mirth at his reaction.

"How else are we to prove it's you without your key? I suggest you try to hold onto it in the future. Now, if you have no other business then I expect we will see you tomorrow Mr. Potter." Kneegrinder made it abundantly clear that their conversation was over. Harry gathered the coins from the small fountain into his money bag and bid the goblin farewell, which he ignored completely. As Harry exited the bank he had many questions running through his head about the will reading. Harry did believe the goblin when he said that he had been sent a notification, and Harry had dealt with mail tampering in the past, though this didn't seem like Dobby's doing. So what stopped him from receiving the letter? The will reading could not have been Dumbledore's task from his letter, that wasn't until Friday but the will reading was going to fall on a Tuesday. Harry also wondered who, if anyone, would also be listed as beneficiaries in the will, Sirius would no doubt have something for Remus, and possibly Dumbledore but Harry was unsure of anyone else that Sirius would consider. Harry continued to mull these thoughts over as he entered Madam Malkin's to purchase some new casual clothing. He ended up with a few nice shirts, pants that actually fit him properly, some new shoes, and with a hint of embarrassment quite a few pairs of underwear. Harry paid for his purchases and had them shrunk so that he could carry them easily back to the Leaky Cauldron but as he walked back to the pub he saw something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

It was by far the most garish building he had ever seen. It stood out starkly against the other shops in the alley with a giant blinking sign declaring it as "WEASLEY WIZARD WHEEZES"

"They actually did it." Harry said out loud to himself as he started walking toward the shop in a daze. The large shop was easily the busiest he had seen in the alley that day. It was incredible on the inside, floor to ceiling shelves packed with tricks and pranks, many of which Harry was already familiar with having spent the first five years of his schooling trapped in the same castle as the two prank kings. Harry was happy to see that the people in this shop seemed considerably less nervous than those outside. Most of the kids were about to have fits of pure excitement while even the adults were looking around with no small amount of wonder on their faces. Harry was examining the fake wands when he felt hands clap him on each shoulder.

"Haha! Harry! Our friend and generous benefactor!"

"What do you think of the shop?" The twins were beaming in their matching magenta suits, both looking as garish as the shop they own.

"It's brilliant you two!" Harry said still looking around impressed. "I see you wasted no time getting started."

"Why would we?"

"We've had the plans for ages"

"and you supplied us with the start-up money!"

"Thanks for that by the way."

"Anything you see on the shelves just grab, your money is no good here!"

The twins led Harry to a back room which aside from being much quieter held the more serious, defensive products. "It's great to see you guys doing so well!" said Harry emphatically.

"Well thank you Harry, but what brings you to Diagon Alley?" Said Fred

"Yeah, we figured you'd be with the muggles, or with the family out at the Burrow?" George said giving Harry a somewhat skeptical look.

Harry took a moment before responding. "I've had a bit of a rough summer, and decided that I needed some time to myself, so I figured I'd come stay at the Cauldron for a few days, try and clear my head. If you hear from any order members, don't tell them you've seen me, please."

"Us? Tell on you?"

"Never!"

"Thanks guys, also, I think I am going to take one of these hats, help me keep a lower profile." Harry grabbed a nearby baseball cap, fitting it snugly to his head.

"No problem at all Harry!"

"Do make sure to drop in, we live above the shop, so we're not far off at all."

"I'll do that guys, thanks for being discreet." Harry shook hands with the twins and left the shop laughing softly to himself as he saw a young boy turn into a canary.

"OI! YOU'LL BE PAYING FOR THAT!" The twins shouted in chorus as Harry exited the shop finally heading back toward the Cauldron.

Returning to the bar he said a quick hello to Tom, ordered a sandwich to take up to his room, and made his way upstairs. Walking into his room he was greeted by Hedwig who after giving him her customary nip of affection flew out into the evening sky to start hunting. Harry watched her fly away and thought about sending a letter to someone tomorrow, letting them know where he was. Though why everyone needed to be updated on his constant whereabouts was a bit beyond him. Maybe he'd let them sweat for a couple days. Show them that he was capable of making his own way through the world, at least in this capacity. He got into his pajamas and laid back on the bed staring at the ceiling. He was still feeling very proud of himself for striking out on his own. He wondered what Sirius would say and was comforted by the fact that if he knew Sirius at all he knew that what he wanted was Harry to be happy and healthy, and Harry knew that the closest to that he'd been in a long time was lying here in the small room listening to the traffic coming from muggle London. He wondered what other people would think of his situation, Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley will be furious with him, that much was sure. Hermione would worry, and make sure he knew what a stupid idea she thought it was. Ron would be jealous, but then, Ron was always jealous about something, bit of a broken record that one. Harry was still trying to decide if he was going to let the Order in on his whereabouts when he drifted off to sleep.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

_So this is my first attempt at FanFiction. Long time listener, first time caller, you know the drill. I was inspired to do this because I've seemed to have lost any writing ability I might have had in High School. This comes as no surprise, muscles tend to atrophy if they're not used for 6 years. I would like to get back in the saddle a bit and sharpen those skills though and so here I am. A few things I'd like to say about this story, it's not going to be very fast paced it will be a romance eventually but there will be time enough for that later, I want to build a firm foundation before I start piling things on top of it. I would absolutely love to hear anything from people who read this (I do so enjoy validation) so if you've read this far please, by all means, **leave me a review, positive, negative, encouraging, discouraging, whatever you deem worthy of your time.** I have more of this written and even more outlined and will be starting the second chapter before this one is posted. I would love to have a weekly posting schedule but seeing as I've never done anything like this we'll see. If someone would like to beta read my work before I put it here I would be thrilled, just let me know and we can get in touch. One more thing before I'm done. This story is inspired in no small part by three authors, ChemProf, Muggledad, and Old-Crow. They are all absolutely amazing and while I'm trying my best to write what I consider to be an original story anything that seems familiar will have, no doubt, come from one of these three, so to them I apologize ahead of time (Especially to you Crow, as you were the person who introduced me to Harry/Susan, which I now somewhat inexplicably ship as if my life depended on it.)_


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